Princeton hosts Columbia on Friday night at the Jadwin Gymnasium. The Lions open up Ivy League play after winning back-to-back games at home. The Tigers dropped their conference opener at Penn last Saturday.

Line: Princeton -10.5

Lions cruise past DIII opponent with 38-0 first half run

Columbia was able to scrap together two victories in their last two outings, which boosts their overall win total to just three this season. They were able to take down Maine before throttling DIII Sarah Lawrence, 87-42, last Saturday. The Lions made 40.5 percent of their shots and while they were able to knock down 13 3-pointers, it took 44 attempts to get there. The defense was able to hold the overmatched opponent to just a 24.1 shooting percentage. They also had a commanding 57-34 advantage in rebounds and a solid passing ratio of 22 assists to 7 turnovers.

As expected, a number of Columbia players saw plenty of action. Three of their starters didn’t even register double figures in minutes. Sarah Lawrence tied the game at 8-8 with 15:34 left in the first half, and they didn’t score again until a free throw was made with 22 seconds left. At that point, the Lions had 46 points. Senior guard Kyle Castlin (11.3 ppg) had the best overall night with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Cannady’s 21 points not enough to boost Tigers to opening Ivy League win

Entering Friday, Princeton sits alongside Dartmouth as the teams starting off Ivy League action with a defeat. They weren’t able to take down Penn on the road, losing 76-70. They hit a decent 45.5 shooting percentage, nailed seven 3-pointers, and made 13-of-16 from the free throw line. However, the home team was simply able to generate more offense to pull out the victory (51.9 field goal percentage).

Both teams saw most of their scoring production come from starters. Four of Princeton’s starters had double figures in points, the high man being junior guard Devin Cannady (18.5 ppg) with 21 points. For the second straight game, he hit 7-of-13 overall from the field. He also made all four free throw attempts. He now has registered 49 points in his last two games.

Trends

Columbia is:

2-5 ATS in their last 7 games on Friday

0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against teams with a losing SU record

Princeton is:

38-16 ATS in their last 54 games on Friday

9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games as a favorite

The Lions are trending in the right direction, but a team that’s 3-10 heading into this contest will likely get a brutal awakening. The Tigers are much better on paper and should even up their conference record rather easily.

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Brian Spaen

Blogging journeyman and sports handicapper. His passion for statistics, analyzing team reports, and watching multiple hours of sports daily gives him an edge for picking who will beat the spread. Also writes about technology and video games. Hobbies include enjoying life in the big city, spending way too much time on YouTube, and discovering new craft beer and whisky.